1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a mobile voice message/program selection system for receiving voice messages/electronic mail messages to subscribers, and more particularly to a mobile voice message selection system architecture for selecting and receiving voice/electronic mail messages from external systems, e.g., information service providers, using a mobile or cellular telephone or transceiver system.
2. Background Art
Distribution of audio information or data has evolved from early radio broadcasting to meet viewer demand. Initially, radio receivers were bulky and essentially non-movable units which were located in the living room of a home, as a permanent fixture. The radio receiver has been significantly improved over the years to become more portable and convenient. For example, today most vehicles include radio receivers which broadcast prescheduled audio programming to the passengers of the vehicle. In addition, the radio receiver has been reduced to such a small size that many people keep such a portable device on their person while walking or exercising to enhance activities which were commonly performed without the convenience or entertainment of the radio receiver.
However, audio programming was, at best, prescheduled and typically randomized, with the listener having to tune to the designated station or frequency at the appointed time to listen to a particular audio program. Thus, audio listeners were subjected to the selection chosen by the particular broadcast station.
Technological advances resulted in the proliferation of Audio Cassette Recorders (ACR) and Video Cassette Recorders (VCR), establishing a second option for audio and video programming distribution. Pre-recorded audio and video programs are now available for sale and rental to ACR and VCR owners. Using an ACR or VCR, the viewer selects from among many titles available for sale and rental, and listens and perhaps views the program when convenient. The ACR or VCR owner further has the capability to selectively listen or view the programming using special functions of the ACR or VCR, such as pause, fast forward, reverse, slow motion, etc. The listener or viewer can thus manipulate and replay portions of the program at will.
The penalty for this convenience, however, is in the necessity to travel to the local rental/sales store, if necessary wait for a popular program tape to become available, and once the program is purchased or rented to return home to listen to the program. If the tape is rented, the listener then revisits the video store to return the tape.
Much research has been conducted in the unrelated arena of cable television network programming. For example, cable television systems have developed and distributed "premium" channels viewable only by subscribers having appropriate descramblers. The descramblers are tuned to receive these premium channels, descramble the video and audio information and supply a signal capable of reception on a standard television set.
Pay-per-view programs, which evolved later, include recently released movies, live concerts and popular sporting events. Subscribers wishing to view a pay-per-view program place an order with the cable operator. At the designated time, the subscriber's descrambler is activated to permit viewing of the pay-per-view programming. However, the subscriber is restricted to viewing the programming at the scheduled time. There is no capability of delivering programming, video or audio, to a subscriber on demand, that is, immediately or at a subscriber-specified time and date. Further, these cable television systems provide the requested pay-per-view program at a stationary television with a stationary converter descrambler using stationary land lines.
Telephone lines have been suggested as an alternative means of video distribution in Goodman et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,010,399 and Kleinerman, U.S. Pat. No. 4,849,811. However, systems using the public switched telephone network (PSTN) are often bandwidth limited, providing only still frame or video conferencing capabilities. Because telephone system carriers for the most part use the PSTN only for connectivity between subscribers, there is no capability for dynamic routing of digitized video without dedicated leased, wide bandwidth circuits. Telephone line based systems also fail to provide acceptable VCR type functional control of the programming.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,247,347, to Litteral et al., incorporated herein by reference, describes a so-called Video-on-Demand service that provides video programming to subscribers over the PSTN. A video information provider (VIP) transmits coded digital video data over wideband PSTN supplied connectivity to a central office. The video data may be buffered at the central office for transmission over a POTS line to the subscriber. A subscriber may use either a standard telephone instrument over the PSTN or a dedicated control device over an ISDN packet network to order the video programming. Such a device is located at a television set of the subscriber and permits a display of the program menu on the television screen.
Connectivity between the central office and the subscriber for transmission of video data is provided by an asymmetrical digital subscriber line (ADSL) system. ADSL interface units perform multiplexing of digital video information with voice information to be transmitted to the subscriber and support transmission on the ISDN packet data network of a reverse control channel from the subscriber to the central office.
However, all these prior art attempts have concentrated on video-on-demand programming which is tied to the public switched telephone network using stationary converted or digital subscriber devices located at a fixed location, such as the home.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,131,020 to Liebensy et al. describes a Method of and System for Providing Continually Updated Traffic or Other Information to Telephonically and Other Communications-Linked Customers. This patent pertains to a method of traffic information and telephone channel communication between a central station and a plurality of callers distributed in different zones throughout a geographical area. All callers are telephonically linked with the central station. The method collects and updates traffic information from a plurality of sources on a real-time and continual basis for all the zones throughout the area. It responds to telephone dialing on the caller's telephone keyboard and enters on such keyboard a code for the particular zone of interest specified by the caller. It telephonically transmits back from the central station to the caller a report of the traffic information requested by the caller in the particular zone specified by the caller. It also responds to subsequent caller keyboard requests for automatic updating of significant changes in the traffic information within such specific zone.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,243,640 to Hadley et al. relates to an Integrated Cellular Telephone and Vehicular Audio System. The patent pertains to interfacing a mobile telephone and an audio system in a vehicle. The patent integrates the two systems in order to share components and thereby eliminate duplication costs and complexity of the system. The system selectively couples program audio signals and phone audio signals to an output transducer depending on the activation of a main program audio system and telephone.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,206,641 to Grant et al. involves a Portable Traffic Congestion Radio. The patent pertains to a portable electronic storage device that receives and stores digitally coded traffic reports for a covered geographical area. The device presents traffic information relevant to a user-specified vehicle trip within the covered area. The device includes a touch-sensitive map that is used to indicate trip origin, destination and routing of interest. The device makes calculations to select and modify the reports and the traffic information from the reports is presented to the user by synthesized or digitized voice sounds.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,812,843 to Champion et al. relates to a Telephone Accessible Information System. The patent describes a communication system for subscribers that is capable of continuously updating information on a variety of subjects. Primarily, the patent deals with the subject of updated traffic information. Each geographic area served by the system is represented by a specially designed map. The map is divided into grid sections and systems to indicate routes. The subscriber, through codes on a DTMF phone selects a particular route. The communications system, from information gathered in a database, provides the subscriber with updated traffic information. This is continually updated for a certain route for a certain period of time.
Heretofore, however, the prior art has not addressed the issue or problem relating to the providing of data, voice mail and/or electronic mail messages to users which typically receive or listen to audio or substantially audio programs in a moveable or transient manner as discussed previously.
In addition, the prior art has not considered or addressed the problem relating to the selection of data, voice mail and/or electronic mail programs from an audio/voice mail provider where the messages are to be delivered or transmitted to a portable, moveable audio device.
The prior art has further not addressed the problem providing the user of a portable audio device with an economical means of receiving such data, voice mail and/or electronical mail messages.
The prior art has also not addressed the problem of efficiently allocating sufficient resources between the optional voice mail/electronic mail provider and the portable audio program listener.